202512/08
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) held the “Building Habitats Together, Keeping Our Promise to Safeguard All Creatures - 5th Anniversary of Payments for Ecosystem Services Achievement Press Conference and Exchange Forum 2025” today (12/08). Nearly 150 farmers, tribal communities, and government officials gathered to review the “Payments for Ecosystem Services Program for Endangered Species and Critical Habitats” over the past five years. Through cross-agency cooperation and public-private partnerships, the program has protected nearly 60% of the protected species that use low-elevation mountains and farmland ecosystems as their habitats through eco-friendly farming and habitat preservation. The program has doubled the area of eco-friendly habitats, stopped the decline and reversed the population trends of endangered species, and transformed the conservation awareness of local communities. The achievements were presented through 11 practical seminars, showcasing a new model of “triple co-prosperity” where ecological conservation, production, and daily life can thrive together.
Five Years of Achievements: Safeguarding All Creatures through Action
Director General Lin Hwa-Ching of the FANCA stated, ‘The core spirit of Payments for Ecosystem Services is to support the local community, so that farmers who live next to endangered wildlife do not have to sacrifice their livelihoods in order to protect important biological resources. Precious biodiversity resources are a common asset of all people, and the cost of conservation should not be borne solely by farmers. Therefore, the FANCA, on behalf of all citizens, issued “ecological wages” to these farmers and residents who managed the land in an eco-friendly manner for the nation as a token of gratitude. Such a concept still remains only a “moral appeal” in many countries, but in Taiwan, we have been practicing it for many years and have achieved tangible results, making us a pioneer globally.’
The FANCA stated that the scope of the Payments for Ecosystem Services Program has expanded from 9 counties and cities and 63 townships and districts across Taiwan in 2021 to 18 counties and cities and 175 townships this year. The participation rate of all counties and cities in Taiwan has reached 80%, while the area of eco-friendly farming has increased by 50% since the initial stage of the program, accumulating to more than 3,000 hectares. From protecting the farmland green treefrog (
Zhangixalus arvalis) in Chiayi, to promoting leopard cat-friendly agriculture in Miaoli, to maintaining the habitat of pheasant-tailed jacana (
Hydrophasianus chirurgus) in Tainan and Kaohsiung, the program has successfully linked together mountains, forests, farmland, and wetlands, constructing complete green networks and biodiversity corridors.
Furthermore, more than 4,000 voluntary reports have been accumulated, demonstrating that the public has shifted from the past concept of “NIMBY conflict” to “proactive conservation.” We have also witnessed the continued expansion of endangered species populations, including the leopard cat (
Prionailurus bengalensis) and Formosan black bear (
Ursus thibetanus formosanus). Related data also show that the populations of species such as the red-bellied annulate keelback (
Trimerodytes annularis), Eurasian otter (
Lutra lutra), Australasian grass-owl (
Tyto longimembris), yellow-margined box turtle (
Cuora flavomarginata), and yellow pond turtle (
Mauremys mutica) are becoming more stable. This serves to confirm that eco-friendly production and habitat preservation can effectively improve the environment of the habitats, prompting more rare and valuable species to return to their homeland, and demonstrating the resilience and recovery of the ecosystem.
Shift in Conservation Awareness Opens New Chapter in Community Conservation
The FANCA further explained that compared to the initial stage of the program in 2021, when there were 65 community patrol teams across Taiwan, the number has more than doubled to 146 teams, with a continued participation rate of over 90%, demonstrating the steady growth of local conservation efforts. Local communities not only engage in patrols and monitoring, but also incorporate local culture and industry features to develop diverse conservation actions. For example, bamboo shoot farmers in Chiayi have combined the conservation of the farmland green treefrog and its habitat ecosystem to establish the “Farmland Green Treefrog Cooperative,” jointly participating in the conservation of treefrog and environmentally friendly production. Farmers Chen Guo-Chi and Chen Yun-Chu, a couple from Shimen District, New Taipei City, have resumed rice terrace cultivation and are committed to pesticide-free farming. This has enabled Formosan small Indian civets (
Viverricula indica taivana) and yellow pond turtles (
Mauremys mutica) to return to the fields, and it also allows tourists to understand the value of eco-friendly agriculture through hands-on experiences.
Farmers have taken part in field observations and have accumulated 67,539 observation records on the “iNaturalist Taiwan” platform, covering 2,250 species. More than 38,107 entries (56.42%) have reached “research-grade,” meeting the standard for academic research use. Not only do the records show the many species in farmland ecosystems, but also include many precious images of protected species, establishing a new model for citizen science.
11 Thematic Lectures: Witnessing Taiwan’s Implementation Capabilities
The achievement presentation was followed by the exchange forum, themed “Building Habitats Together, Keeping Our Promise to Safeguard All Creatures.” It featured 11 thematic lectures across three main areas:
Production and Co-Prosperity, Marketing and Promotion, Conservation Actions. Speakers and farmers shared their firsthand experiences from the field to the market, emphasizing eco-friendly farming and biodiversity co-existence. They called on the public to support sustainable value chains through action. Among them, Chang Cheng-Liang, a farmer from Wufeng, stated, “Farmland is also a habitat. I now switched to nylon lines to do weeding in the orchard, because I was afraid of breaking the turtles’ shells. Every yellow-margined box turtle in the field is precious. It takes very little effort to leave behind the dead branches and fallen leaves, which can provide a habitat for the yellow-margined box turtles.” The lectures showcased the diverse practices and social connections driven by Payments for Ecosystem Services.